INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

- “This will happen. I have decided who will do a sacrifice for this religion.
Today I will go and you shall occupy this seat [gaddi]. The responsibility
will come on your shoulders.”
Guru Gobind Singh ji Maharaj smiled and said:
- “Father, do not worry about me.”
[Coda] Children of today! Look into history and you will find that the
father is great and the son is great who sends his father for sacrifice.
That father is great who obeys his son and goes to be sacrificed. History
is evidence. Because of that Bhai Santok Singh has written that if a
gentle man and gentle fakir like Guru Gobind Singh ji would not have
come into this world, the map of India would be different. This is a
fact. That our India is happy and independent is the result of his grace
and sacrifices. Whether you follow a religion or hang a colourful flag
on your door there are no restrictions on us. This freedom is the grace
of Guru Gobind Singh ji Maharaj. The religious gathering we see and
the religious discourses taking place are only possible because of Guru
Gobind Singh ji Maharaj. We are celebrating his respected birthday.
Now it is time to finish. I am calling “Victory” [fateh] here! Give the reply
of “Victory”!
[Salutation] Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fateh!
3.4. SIMRAN ‒ REMEMBERING THE DIVINE NAME
Every Sunday between 4 and 5.30 in the morning a group of about thirty people,
Sikhs and Sindhis, assembles at the house of a selected family for a joint program of
nam simran, or inner meditation by chanting the name of God. Refraining from unnecessary
talk, they remove their shoes and sandals before entering the host’s living
room. Their heads are covered with turbans and shawls. When all those gathered
have settled in rows on the floor, men and women on separate sides, the doors are
closed, curtains drawn, and all lights put out. In darkness the host will put on a cassette
tape titled “Simran practice” (Simran sadhna [Punjabi] or Simran abhyas [Sanskrit])
‒ a recorded version of a devotional (often live) performance by a well-known and
pious Sikh musician or reciter who will combine the singing of gurbani hymns with
repetitions of the divine name. The sound of the male voice is turned up to the highest
volume, hovering and reverberating in the confined space. Keeping their eyes
shut, people listen and soon start to join in, imitating the recorded performance. After
some thirty minutes the music fades into a unison chanting the name of God ‒ Vahiguru
‒ led by the taped performer. Gradually the sound of instruments disappears
and the pace of the repetition intensifies. All participants regulate their breathing to
the pronunciation – inhaling with the utterance of “vahi” and aspirating “guru” – at a
faster speed until every respiring second in the room is imbued with loud polyphonic
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008